The Associated Press

With opposite opinions from two federal appeals courts on whether walking is an integral part of championship golf, the PGA Tour said Monday it would ask the U.

Wednesday, July 05, 2000

With opposite opinions from two federal appeals courts on whether walking is an integral part of championship golf, the PGA Tour said Monday it would ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the decision that allows Casey Martin to ride in a cart.

The tour said it would file its motion Wednesday, the deadline imposed by the Supreme Court. The court probably will not decide until late October whether to take up the case.

”This case is not about Casey Martin, but rather the PGA Tour’s ability to set and implement the rules of its competition,” the tour said in a statement.

Spokesman Bob Combs said there would be no further comment.

Martin, who has a rare circulatory disease in his right leg, is playing the Western Open outside Chicago this week and could not immediately be reach for comment.

His father said he was disappointed but not surprised by the tour’s decision.

”I never expected differently,” King Martin said. ”(Commissioner) Tim Finchem told me from Day One that he would accommodate Casey all the way through the appeals process, which is a nice way of saying they’re going all the way through with this.”

Martin successfully sued the PGA Tour in 1998 for a right to ride a cart, and became the first player to ride in the U.S. Open and on the PGA Tour. He earned his tour card in October by finishing in the top 15 on the Nike Tour.

In March, the 9th Circuit Court in San Francisco unanimously upheld the Oregon court’s decision.

One day later, the 7th Circuit Court in Chicago upheld a lower court ruling that denied a cart to Indiana club pro Ford Olinger.

Olinger had sued the USGA for a cart in U.S. Open qualifying because of a degenerative hip disease. He was allowed a walker – called a Lunar Swedish Rollator – to relieve pressure on his back, but shot a 90 in the first stage of qualifying in May and failed to advance.

Both lawsuits were based on the Americans with Disabilities Act. The tour said it expects Olinger to ask the Supreme Court to review his case, too.